John Ó Seachnasaigh (died 1601) was an Irish

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan ( Irish and Scottish Gaelic: ''fine'') in Ireland and Scotland. Ireland There are instances where Norman lords of the time like ...

. Ó Seachnasaigh was the eldest but illegitimate son of Sir

Ruaidhrí Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh Sir Roger O'Shaughnessy ( Irish: ''Ruaidhrí Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh'') (died 1569) was an Irish Knight and Chief of the Name. The son of Sir Diarmaid Ó Seachnasaigh, Ruaidhrí was described by Sir Henry Sidney as "a very obedient and ci ...

. Upon the death of his father, his younger but legitimate half-brother, Sir

Dermot Ó Seachnasaigh Sir Dermot Ó Seachnasaigh, Chief of the Name, died 1606. He was a son of Sir Ruaidhrí Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh and Lady Honora O'Brien, daughter of Murrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Thomond. Ó Seachnasaigh was in contention with his elder but ...

, inherited Cenél Áeda. Contention between the two brothers continued till 1585, when they both travelled to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to attend the 1585 Parliament. It seems that the parliament found in favour of Sir Dermot, which left John destitute. However under

Brehon law Early Irish law, also called Brehon law (from the old Irish word breithim meaning judge), comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwe ...

he was still regarded as the Chief of the Name. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

, ''sub anno'' 1601, relates John's fate: ''An unusual accident and a sad fatality occurred to the camp of the Bourkes, namely, an advantage was taken of their want of watching, so that their enemies came into the midst of them. They left them lying mangled and slaughtered, pierced and blood-stained corpses, throughout their tents and booths. On this occasion was slain O'Shaughnessy, i.e. John, the son of Gilla-Duv, son of Dermot, son of William, who had been banished from his patrimony, as indeed had been all those plunderers who were along with the sons of John Burke.'' His death occurred somewhere in north

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

References

* ''History of Galway'',

James Hardiman James Hardiman (February 1782 – 13 November 1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway and an important historian. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1 ...

, 1820 * ''Tabular pedigrees of O'Shaughnessy of Gort'' (1543–1783), Martin J. Blake, Journal of the

Galway Archaeological and Historical Society The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on 21 March 1900. It promotes historical preservation, as well as the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. As of January 2002, the Society had published 53 cons ...

, vi (1909–10), p. 64; vii (1911–12), p. 53. *

John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...

The Genealogies, Tribes, and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach
Dublin: Irish Archaeological Society. 1844. Pedigree of O'Shaughnessy: pp. 372–91. {{DEFAULTSORT:O Seachnasaigh, John 16th-century Irish people Nobility from County Galway 1601 deaths Year of birth unknown